Catching Up On Tuesday.

This Is What We Get ...... for leaving for a day. The inbox is full. The voicemail is packed. And someone's made off with our copy of Barry Goldwater Sings The Beatles. We're not pointing fingers ... but ...More of today's news after the jump.

30-Second U.S. Senate Update (TM):Our Rick appeared at the Pennsylvania Press Club luncheon yesterday to warn that Islamic fascists are everywhere.They're in Iraq, Iran, southern Lebanon, and quite possibly under your bed, waiting to scare the bejeezus out of you after the you turn off the light."Every country in the world is a front," he declared, going seriously Darth Vader. "These people are after us not because we oppress them. It's because we stand for everything they hate."Oh ... so that's why ...Furthermore, Santorum said, it won't be long before terrorists mount another attack in the U.S. Terrorists are working under a "very short time frame" while oil prices and dependency are both high. As prices and demand drop, less money will be available to them, he argued. To improve the situation, Santorum argued that the U.S. needs to "cultivate civic and culture organizations" in the Middle East to ensure free and fair elections. Because, y'know, it's working out so well in the one place the American government has tried it ...Meanwhile in Allentown ...U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., engaged in some good, old-fashioned payback, saying heplans to do everything he can to get Santorum re-elected.Speaking to a group that included Jewish leaders, Specter said he was grateful for Santorum's help during his tight 2004 re-election battle against Pat Toomey."I wouldn't have been re-elected without him," Specter said.

Back In Harrisburg ...Santorum also took aim at Hermetic Bob for signing four months' worth of paychecks that included pay hikes for lawmakers."He sent out the checks ... and then he claimed the raise was unconstitutional," Santorum said. "Where was he when it counted? Why didn't he say the pay raise was unconstitutional and refuse to sign the checks?""If I think something is unconstitutional, I'll tell you right away," he continued. "That's the big difference between my opponent and me."The other big difference, we think, is that Santorum is a little taller ...

From The Governor's Race ...Republican Lynn Swann makes his first extended foray into the great northeast this holiday weekend. Among other places, Swann's slated to make stops in Towanda, Bradford County as well as Monroe County. On Sunday, he's in Allentown, where he'll be visiting the Allentown Fair. We just hope we're on-hand to see him judge another goat show. That may have been the highlight of our visit to last month's Lebanon County Fair.

Stranger Than Fiction Dept.A home-invasion robbery in West Philadelphia on Sunday night that saw a mother and daughter shot has been linked to the abduction of the son of a state lawmaker a day earlier, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports this morning.The two women are relatives of Shamari Taylor, the 26-year-old son of state Rep. John Myers, D-Philadelphia. Taylor has been missing since he was kidnapped with a female companion on Saturday night.A veteran lawmaker from East Germantown, Myers released a statement on Monday, asking, "for your prayers at this time. We ask for anyone with knowledge of what happened to his son Shamari to come forward."We wish Rep. Myers and his family all the best for his son's safe return. And we can't help but wonder if this is what it's going to take for legislators to get serious about gun violence in Philadelphia ...

So That's Another Competitive Congressional Race:As if we weren't having a hard enough time keeping track of all those congressional races down in suburban Philly, this morning brings the news that the contest between U.S. Rep. Don Sherwood, R-10th, and Democrat Chris Carney is now a toss-up.That's the official word from Washington D.C.-based political analyst Stu Rothenberg, who nonetheless says the race still tilts toward Sherwood because Republicans outnumber Democrats in the northeastern PA district.In May, Rothenberg said the race "leaned" Republican, but he adjusted his forecast because of Sherwood's poor showing in the May primary against unknown candidate Kathy Scott."The primary results showed that the congressman has vulnerabilities in
his own party. Even over the last few months, it’s
unclear that he’s successfully unified everyone in his party behind
him,” Rothenberg's political editor, Nathan Gonzales, told the Times-Leader of Wilkes-Barre.Dept. Of Katrina Opportunism:Democratic 6th Congressional District candidate Lois Murphy is in Norristown today, using the first anniversary of the worst natural disaster in American history to advance her campaign.Murphy's slated to appear at the George Washington Community Center at 1 p.m. to talk about the state's emergency preparedness and "her plans to address the needs of our first responders," her campaign said.Where In The World Is Flavia Colgan?Imagine our surprise when everyone's favorite charity dream date called us yesterday to let us know she'll be jetting off for points unknown early next month to shoot a new series for the Travel Channel.'Tis true. La Flavia will be the host and consulting producer of MiracleQuest, a show that she says is a "journey to the edge of human understanding."Apparently, the show involves Colgan traipsing all over the globe to the sites of various religious miracles -- all the better to prove and/or debunk them."We're going to places a lot of people haven't been," Colgan told us yesterday. She's particularly excited, she said, because it finally gives her a chance to use her Harvard religion degree. Which is funny, because we had no idea she went to Harvard.In The Blogosphere:Keystone Politicsupdates on the condition of Pittsburgh MayorBob O'Connor; GrassrootsPA on Gov. Ed's opposition to a gas tax hike; Young Philly Politics has a thing for the Middle Ages; A Smoke-Filled Room has some Monday left-overs; Above Average Jane on former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner's swing through Philly last week; Tony Phyrillas says the Democrats are the Party of Death (cue menacing music); FreePA on what it says are double-standards on coverage in the Middle East; The Fly Under the Dome on the ongoing jockeying for the Republican state Senate leadership; Two Political Junkies take aim at Santorum again; Perry Christopher shares some family snap-shots; PennPatriot on the tale of two attack ads; Dave Ralis is running out of patience with Comcast; Gort on a new Chris Carney ad; A Big Fat Slob goes whistling past the graveyard; Lehigh Valley Ramblings on stonewalling in Northampton County; Dick Polman takes the long view; Matt Best wonders whether there's a reformer in the house; Fact-Esque has Katrina, Day Two; Daddy Democrat on the brain-workings of a four-year-old; Suburban Guerrilla has a few thoughts on Frank Gaffney; A smorgasbord of links from Daily Kos; Red State on what it says is the leftist destabilization of Mexico; It's Wonkette's daily briefing; As always, DCist has our Picture of the Day; Andrew Sullivan on the mounting bad news for Ehud Olmert; The Weekly Standard on the real losers in the Israel/Hezbollah war; Arianna Huffington is feeling some deja-vu; Politics1 runs the numbers; Hotline on Chris Shays; Josh Marhsall on Bush's new plan to control federal spending, and James Wolcott on The Bowery Boys;

A Capitol Ideas Video Classic.Thanks to the wonders of YouTube, we bring you a new Capitol Ideas feature. We've found the video-sharing site to be a veritable treasure trove of classic music videos. This morning,we bring you a clip from one of our favorite bands, Let's Active. The tune: In Little Ways. The LP: 1987's Big Plans For Everybody.

Tuesday's Gratuitous Soccer Link:As we noted in this space last week, former Manchester United star Roy Keane has been tapped as the new manager of the abysmal Championship League team Sunderland. In The Guardian this morning, Keano explains why he risked his reputation and prestige to take on a failing squad.